San Francisco Lawmaker Proposes Anti-Karen "CAREN Act"

San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Watson struck acronym gold yesterday when he announced the "CAREN Act," a proposed law that would allow criminal and civil lawsuits against people who call 911 on minorities with the intent to infringe on their rights. "CAREN" stands for "Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-emergencies."

Racist 911 calls are unacceptable that's why I'm introducing the CAREN Act at today’s SF Board of Supervisors meeting. This is the CAREN we need. Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies. #CARENact #sanfrancisco

— Shamann Walton (@shamannwalton) July 7, 2020

The 2020 George Floyd Protests has brought forth a wave of white women-- so-called Karens-- who have been filmed engaging in racist and sometimes violent behavior against black people. Recently, Lisa Alexander, a "Karen" in San Francisco, went viral for dialing 911 on a local Filipino resident who was stenciling Black Lives Matter in chalk on his own property.

Oh my god, the CAREN Act pic.twitter.com/vGlunVq0mh

— Sara Gaiser (@akrazia) July 7, 2020

Walton stated the law would help "protect the rights of communities of color who are often targeted and victims of fraudulent emergency calls" in a statement. San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney, who co-authored the bill, tweeted, "Racist false reports put people in danger and waste resources."

Today I joined as co-author of @shamannwalton's CAREN Act (Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies Act).

The CAREN Act makes it unlawful to fabricate false racially biased emergency reports.

Racist false reports put people in danger and waste resources.

— Matt Haney (@MattHaneySF) July 7, 2020

California state congressman Rob Bonta has introduced a similar bill for the state, known as Assembly Bill 1550. According to tweets from Bloomberg Law reporter Joyce Cutler, Bonta said, "We’re not seeking to have more lawsuits but we are seeking to end this action, this conduct that we’ve seen far too much of, that hurts disadvantaged communities, that hurts people of color, that hurts people based on their protected class."

“We’re not seeking to have more lawsuits but we are seeking to end this action, this conduct that we’ve seen far too much of, that hurts disadvantaged communities, that hurts people of color, that hurts people based on their protected class,” said Assemblymember Rob Bonta. 4/x.

— Joyce Cutler (@joycecutler) July 7, 2020

"Karens" committing racist and violent acts have become a regular news story in the past several months. One of the most high profile cases was Amy Cooper, known as Central Park Karen went viral nationally for dialing 911 on a birdwatching black man who asked her to leash her dog. The same day, George Floyd was killed by police after someone dialed 911 for suspecting he used counterfeit money to buy cigarettes.